


Expedited Shipping

by muchmoremajestic



Series: War Machine Bingo 2019-2020 [1]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-29
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2020-11-01 10:50:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20813918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/muchmoremajestic/pseuds/muchmoremajestic
Summary: Rhodey was supposed to mail a package to his sister weeks ago. But when he finally gets around to mailing it, he finds himself in the right place at the right time.





	Expedited Shipping

**Author's Note:**

> For my card for War Machine Bingo (A4 - "Post Office Meet Cute")

The box had been perched on his kitchen counter for about two weeks now. It was supposed to be on the way to his sister’s. A photo album that she requested for a project for their uncle’s 75th birthday party. When she asked, Rhodey happily agreed to send it. He took the album, wrapped it up. Packaged it with love and care - protected by two stuffed bears included for his nieces. 

The box was ready to go, but since the post office was in the opposite direction Rhodey usually went it, on his counter it sat.

_ I’ll bring it tomorrow _ , he thought. And he had the same thought the next day. And the next day. And the next.

Until one day he woke up to a passive aggressive text from his sister. 

>  _ I should be receiving that album any day now, right James? _

Rhodey looked at the calendar. His uncle’s birthday was in a little over two weeks.  _ Shit. _

<  _ Oh yeah, definitely, it’s already on its way _

Rhodey got up and got dressed; retrieved the package from its perch on the counter, and made his way to the post office. 

The nearest post office was a large white building from the 1920’s, with golden fixtures that were once shiny but now let off a dull glow. The closest post office to Rhodey’s apartment also happened to be the one near the City’s municipal center, so it was especially large and usually busy. As he found an open parking space (a miracle, all things considered), Rhodey was expecting there to be some kind of line. But nothing could have prepared him for what was actually there.

Through the small window in the big brass door, Rhodey saw a crowd of people. Assuming it was a small jam of foot traffic, he waited a moment for some of the people to exit, but no one did. The reality set in that this  _ was _ the line for the post office. This incredibly long line ended at least 150 feet away from the service counters. Rhodey sighed.  _ This is what I get for procrastinating _ , he told himself as he entered.

After about fifteen minutes, the line began to finally move. Looking ahead in the line, it seemed like there was an entire senior center’s worth of people, waiting impatiently online with five problems and a dozen complaints each. Less patient people lined up behind him but gave up and walked out after only a few minutes. But preferring a long wait to the wrath of his little sister, Rhodey decided to stick it out. He put his headphones in to listen to his favorite podcast. With his ears covered and facing forward, he didn’t notice the swaying tower of packages heading directly toward him. 

Rhodey felt a few things. 

First, an impact. 

Then the sensation of cardboard box corners into his back. 

Then a bonk on his head as a small box bounced off his skull and fell to the floor. 

He could see more packages scattered around his feet and behind him. He turned to see the source of the tidal wave of deliveries. 

A very embarrassed blond woman in a bomber jacket looked at the sprawl of packages on the floor and then back to Rhodey. “Oh my god, Sir, are you alright? I’m so sorry!” she said.

Rhodey rubbed his head. “Oh, don’t worry. It’s okay. I’m fine.” 

“I couldn’t see you from the boxes and honestly I wasn’t expecting the line to be this long,” she said as she looked past Rhodey and toward the service counter, where a middle-aged woman was arguing with staff about the prices of stamps. 

The blond woman began to stack the packages. Rhodey looked down at the floor at the boxes and bent down to help pick them up. “I hope there wasn’t anything fragile in these.” He handed her two soft packages as she gathered the rest of the boxes into a neat stack at her feet.

“Thanks. And no, nothing fragile. Just cat toys and supplies. For my goddaughter’s -“

“Twenty new cats?” Rhodey said with a smile.

She laughed. “No, just the two. They’re two kittens. She lives in rural Louisiana, so it’s honestly easier to ship some of the higher quality stuff to her directly.”

She pulled out her phone and showed Rhodey the lock screen - a photo of a young girl with two kittens, one perched on her shoulder and another at her feet.

“That’s Monica, Avenger and the baby at her feet is Photon.”

Rhodey smiled. The little girl reminded him of his nieces. “Aww, how sweet. And those are pretty interesting names for little kittens.”

“Yeah. It’s cute really, she named the kittens after her mother and my’s call signs from when we were in the Air Force.”

Rhodey instantly lit up. “You were Air Force?!”

The blond woman looked away with half an eye roll. “Yeah, I know, I get that a lot -”

“No, no - I think that’s wonderful! I was also in the Air Force. James.” He extended his hand.

“Oh, Carol,” she said, shaking his hand back. “Yeah, sorry. Usually, when I say I was in the Air Force I get a  _ look _ .”

“The ‘oh  _ you _ know how to fly a plane?’ look?”

Carol laughed. “Yeah, that’s the one.”

They compared service history; both Carol and Rhodey had been at the same base in Tampa, but not at the same time. Rhodey flew some missions with some of the guys Carol went through basic training with, and Carol had worked on a base with some of Rhodey’s ROTC friends from MIT. 

The discussion moved from the Air Force to travel to food and music as the line slowly crept forward. Talking with Carol had been so easy, as if they had known each other for years. She was charming, funny and insightful, and Rhodey couldn’t deny that he thought she was beautiful too. What should have been an agonizing wait at the post office flew by, and Rhodey rapidly felt himself developing a crush as they moved closer and closer to the front of the line. 

“NEXT!” A man shouted from the service counter to Rhodey. Carol was called up to the next window a few seconds later. Soon, the photo album was scanned, the postage paid for, and it would be on its way to his sister. Rhodey sighed in relief but was hesitant to walk away. He had connected with Carol so quickly, and their conversation had been interrupted by finally getting off the line. Carol would also be a while, with all of the packages she was trying to send at once, so Rhodey quickly ruled out just hanging out inside the post office. 

He wandered out and decided to wait for Carol to exit. He wasn’t sure exactly  _ what _ he was going to say, but surely it wouldn’t be  _ that _ weird to at least put a bow on their conversation? He leaned on the hood of his car and waited. 

About ten minutes later, Carol finally walked out of the post office. Rhodey noticed that she glanced around as she left the building. She smiled when she found him and walked over. 

“You waiting for me?” Carol asked.

Rhodey blushed. “Yeah, I guess. I felt like our conversation just kind of got cut off. Felt wrong to just walk away. Is that weird?”

She shook her head. “No, it’s not weird. I’m glad you waited, I felt the same. Wanna continue our conversation somewhere else? Say, a cup of coffee at the Skylight Diner? My treat. Plus, it’s like the least I could do to make up for the cardboard avalanche earlier.” 

Rhodey smiled. “I’d love that.” 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm muchmoremajestic on tumblr and vrose23 on discord!


End file.
